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. 2021 Jun 22;2(3):e12489.
doi: 10.1002/emp2.12489. eCollection 2021 Jun.

Worsening of emergency department length of stay during the COVID-19 pandemic

Anthony Lucero  1 , Kimberly Sokol  1 , Jenny Hyun  2 , Luhong Pan  2 , Joel Labha  3 , Eric Donn  1 , Chadi Kahwaji  1 , Gregg Miller  4
Affiliations

Worsening of emergency department length of stay during the COVID-19 pandemic

Anthony Lucero et al. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open. .

Abstract

Objective: Our study sought to determine whether there was a change in emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic compared to prior years.

Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis using ED performance data 2018-2020 from 56 EDs across the United States. We used a generalized estimating equation (GEE) model to assess differences in ED LOS for admitted (LOS-A) and discharged (LOS-D) patients during the COVID-19 pandemic period compared to prior years.

Results: GEE modeling showed that LOS-A and LOS-D were significantly higher during the COVID-19 period compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. LOS-A during the COVID-19 period was 10.3% higher compared to the pre-COVID-19 time period, which represents a higher geometric mean of 28 minutes. LOS-D during the COVID-19 period was 2.8% higher compared to the pre-COVID-19 time period, which represents a higher geometric mean of 2 minutes.

Conclusions: ED LOS-A and LOS-D were significantly higher in the COVID-19 period compared to the pre-COVID-19 period despite a lower volume of patients in the COVID-19 period.

Keywords: COVID‐19; emergency department; length of stay.

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Conflict of interest statement

No conflicts of interest exist for any of the authors listed.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Emergency department volume by month with corresponding length of stay for admitted patients from 2018–2020. The pre‐COVID‐19 time period is an average of 2018 and 2019 data. The COVID‐19 time period is 2020 data. The vertical bars represent total monthly ED volume in a given month, measured in encounters in a single month. The horizontal lines represent length of stay measured in minutes. January and February data is represented for graphical purposes only. The GEE study data set contains only March through December data for 2018, 2019, and 2020. Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; GEE, generalized estimating equation; LOS‐A, length of stay, admitted
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Emergency department volume by month with corresponding length of stay for discharged patients from 2018–2020. The pre‐COVID‐19 time period is an average of 2018 and 2019 data. The COVID‐19 time period is 2020 data. The vertical bars represent total monthly ED volume in a given month, measured in encounters in a single month. The horizontal lines represent length of stay measured in minutes. January and February data is represented for graphical purposes only. The GEE study data set contains only March through December data for 2018, 2019, and 2020. Abbreviations: ED, emergency department; GEE, generalized estimating equation; LOS‐D, length of stay, discharged
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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